US Jobless Claims Near Record Low

US labor market continues to show strong rebound, following June remarkable non-farm payrolls.

The weekly jobless claims remain unchanged at 250,000, according to the Labor Department report released on Thursday. This is the 71 straight weeks that weekly claims have been below 300,000, its longest streak since 1973.

“The US. economy is doing fine,” said Thomas Costerg, a senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. Still, “it’s difficult to go down further in jobless claims. We may have reached the bottom.”

In a separate report, wholesale prices improved more than expected in June, the gauge of wholesale, producer price index rose 0.5 percent from the 0.4 percent gain recorded in May, the Labor Department reported.

Rise in costs will likely lead to sustained inflationary pressures, a key factor in Federal Reserve rate decision.

“We’re seeing inflationary pressures gaining a little bit of a hold in the economy,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. “Commodity prices are rebounding from their lows seen earlier this year. There’s a bit of a pickup in wages.”

Costs climbed 0.3 percent year-on-year, representing the biggest yearly gain since almost 2 years.